Institutional barriers to organic farming in Centraland Eastern European countries of the Baltic Sea region

A window of opportunity to promote organic farming is open for the Central andEastern European Countries (CEEC) that joined the EU in 2004. The development oforganic farming has the potential to decrease the amount of nutrient leaching tothe Baltic Sea and could help to stop the environmental degradation of the Sea.However, this requires a diverse set of institutions. This paper explores theinstitutions that are lacking to promote the full development of organic farming inthe CEEC, using Sweden as a baseline reference. A case study approach, formalisedby introducing a set of indicators, has been used to identify the missing institutions.Data have been obtained from a desktop study, including a literature review,interviews and a questionnaire. The case studies partially support previous studiesproposing that the development of organic farming proceeds along six steps:establishment of an organic farming community; establishment of politicalrecognition; establishment of financial support; establishment of non-competitiverelationships between the organic sector and general agricultural institutions;establishment of an organic food market; and development of a discussion andcoordination arena. The results show that market development is the leastdeveloped step and that there is a correlation between higher governmentalengagement and a more developed organic sector.QC 20160524